Colorful Eating Habits For Good Health

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Neil_Roth]Neil Roth

We all know colorful fruits and vegetables are a good way for an aesthetically appetizing presentation of food. In fact Van Gogh used them with much success in his paintings. But did you know it is good for health to include fruits and vegetables of different colors in your diet? It sounds playful to include the rainbow in your diet chart but that is what the nutritionists now days are advising. In fact fruits and vegetables from each of the four primary color group should be included every day in your food.

So what are the colors that are so good for health? Yellow/orange, red, green and blue/purple is the favored color by the dieticians. But how and why color plays such an important role in our health and disease prevention? To begin with you have the effects of the pigments themselves which are great antioxidants. Did you know lycopene found in red tomatoes protects you against prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and even heart disease as per one preliminary study?

Pigments are just the first line of defense. They are the precursor for more health benefits.These include vitamins and, fiber. And also phytochemicals that help detoxify the body, battle tumor growth and activate protective genes. Did you know that the most intensely colored fruits and vegetables have the highest levels of protective phytonutients?

Take spinach for example. The dark green color of spinach is practically a one stop pharmacy. It delivers at least three important antioxidants, including the yellow pigment lutein, which helps prevent macular degeneration, the main reason that causes blindness in the elderly. In fact one serving of raw spinach contains about three quarter of your daily vitamin A, one quarter of your folic acid requirement and 185 percent your vitamin K...a vitamin that help strengthen bone.

The message is very clear. Use colorful fruits and vegetables to paint a picture of good health.

The writer of this article is Neil Roth who researches and writes about health and fitness.If you enjoyed this article you can have look at another article by this author on [http://lipcarecenter.com/lip-reduction-surgery/]Lip Reduction at this blog on [http://lipcarecenter.com/]Lip Enhancement.

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